How far back must I go to report ROTH IRA Contributions prior to 2018?

[nancy3]

I retired about six years ago and have not contributed to my Roth Ira since then. How do I find my total contributions prior to 2018?

[dmertz]

If you were age 59½ or over in 2018 you can just enter zero.  Otherwise you'll need to use your Roth IRA transaction records or Forms 5498 from the Roth IRA to find the amount you contributed.

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

To your first contribution.  For your contribution basis TurboTax wants to know the sum of all your regular Roth IRA contributions prior to 2018 minus all of your Roth IRA distributions prior to 2018.

If you are reporting a Form 1099-R that has code T and your first Roth IRA contribution was for some year prior to 2014 or you are reporting a code Q Form 1099-R, TurboTax doesn't need to know your contribution basis to determine the taxable amount of your distribution.

[rick_hillenbrand]

Why didn't you include this vital tidbit in the Help/Learn More part of the software?